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Soundcloud cuts workforce by nearly half, closes London and San Francisco offices

SoundCloud has cut over 40 per cent of its workforce, in an attempt to cut costs, as the music streaming company continues to chase profitability.

The company has let go of 173 employees, from a total of 420, and is closing down its San Francisco and London offices, consolidating operations into two offices – Berlin and New York.

Launched in 2008, SoundCloud had 175m monthly active users at last count – though that was back in August 2014, and given that it hasn’t provided an updated number since, this may have been its peak.

According to co-founder and CEO Alex Ljung, the company has “more than doubled” its revenue in the past 12 months, but it is yet to turn a profit.

“We need to ensure our path to long-term, independent success,” said Ljung. “And in order to do this, it requires cost cutting, continued growth of our existing advertising and subscription revenue streams, and a relentless focus on our unique competitive advantage — artists and creators.”

Ljung says the SoundCloud platform will not be impacted by this development, and will continue to be available in 190-plus countries.